Electrolytically-coated wire



M. M. MERRITT.

ELECTROLYTICALLY COATED WIRE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 7. 1919 1,405,534, Patented Feb. 7, 1922.

I vendor JIaiikewfl. Mewiii,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MATTHEW M. MERRITT, OF SOUTH MIDDLETON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO MERRITT METALS COMPANY, OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS, CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

ELECTROLYTIGALLY-COATED WIRE.

Original application filed April 15, 1919, Serial No. 290,152. Divided and this application 7, 1919. Serial No. 329,000.

To all whom it may comm-n:

Be it known that I, MA'I'I'HEW M. MERRITT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of South Middleton, county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Electrolytically-Coated Wire, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings re resenting like parts.

his invention pertains to improvements in electrolytically coated wire. It is among the objects of the invention to provide a wire having a copper exterior shell of a superior quality.

This application is a divisional of my copending application Serial No. 290,152, filedi April 15, 1919, which matured into United, States Patent No. 1,322,494, dated November 18th, 1919, to which reference should be made for the preferred apparatus and method used in connection with the production of the preferred form of wire to which this application is specifically directed.

In the-drawing which forms part of this specification, the figure is a cross-section of a preferred form'of electrolytically coated w1re.

Referring to the drawing and to the preferred form of my invention selected for illustrative purposes, I have shown a wire 2, which may be of aluminum and which, as

described in my co-pending application above referred to, has its surface treated, preferably, in such a way as to remove the oxide on the surface thereof and preferably to deposit a film of forei substance thereon to serve as an oxide-exc uding medium over the surface of the aluminum and to provide a surface thereto other thanaluminum which will readily take in a satisfactory manner the deposit of copper orother metal durlng subsequent electro-deposition. The oxlde- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 7, .1922.

filed October surface of the aluminum wire with a mixture of muriatic acid, water and tin chloride. The interposition of the coating of oxideexcluding medium between the aluminum and the copper shell 4 minimizes that galvanic deterioration of these metals which normally arises where, in the presence of even a trace of moisture, copper and alumi num are permitted to come 1nto contact or even into close proximity.

Where the wire forming the core is of ferrous material, the exterior coating correspondingto the coating 3 may be an electrolytic, alkaline copper deposit, the exterior deposit forming the wire 4 being electrolytic acid copper. This construction 1s claimed in a divisional ap lication Serial No. 505,371, filed October 4th, 1921.

While I have shown in the drawing and described rather specifically preferred forms of my invention, it will be understood that considerable changes may be made without departing from the scope of my invention, which is best defined in the following claims.

1. Wire comprising a core of aluminum, a film of oxide-excluding material surrounding said core of aluminum. and a shell of dipper surrounding said oxide-excluding 2. Wire comprising a core of aluminum, a film of tin surroundlng said core of aluminum and a shell of copper surrounding said tin film.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name of this ification.

M TTHEW M. MERRITT. 

